Schalke Confirm United Want Neuer

Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies has confirm that Manchester United have expressed an interest in signing their Germany international goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

United are on the lookout for a new No. 1 to replace 40-year-old Edwin Van Der Sar, who plans to retire at the end of the season.

Neuer's solid displays in the Schalke goal are thought to have also attracted the attention of Arsenal and Inter Milan, while Bayern Munich manager Louis van Gaal revealed his interest on Tuesday.

But with United arguably in more urgent need of a new goalkeeper, Old Trafford would appear to be his most likely destination.

"An international consultant has approached me and informed me that Manchester United are interested in Neuer," Tonnies told Bild. "If Manchester United present us with a written request, then we will deal with it."

A new goalkeeper is Sir Alex Ferguson's priority this summer, as he looks to find a capable successor for Van der Sar, who has played an integral role in United's recent success.

Neuer, 24, appears to fit the bill as he can boast Champions League and international experience, which would make him a more obvious choice than current reserve goalkeepers Anders Lindegaard and Tomasz Kuszczak to fill Van der Sar's gloves.

Ferguson Fumes at Ref Calls

Sir Alex Ferguson vented his fury at referee Martin Atkinson after he felt "a lot of decisions" went against Manchester United in their 2-1 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Ferguson pulled few punches in his assessment of Atkinson, both for awarding the match-winning penalty for Chelsea and for not sending off Luiz moments earlier when he appeared to foul Wayne Rooney - himself the beneficiary of some lenient refereeing at the weekend.

Rooney opened the scoring in the first half and Luiz levelled matters before Frank Lampard converted from the spot after Chris Smalling brought down Yuri Zhirkov. But Luiz, already on a yellow card at the time, was fortunate to escape punishment for halting attempted off the ball runs by Rooney and Javier Hernandez - the latter of which being a late shoulder charge.

"You hope you get a strong referee in games like this,'' Ferguson said. "It was a major game for both clubs. You want a fair referee - or a strong referee, anyway - and we didn't get that. I don't know why he has got the game. I must say, when I saw who the referee was I did fear it. I feared the worst.

"It's hard to take. The Luiz foul was six yards in front of the referee, maybe eight if we give him the benefit of the doubt, no obstructions whatsoever. I don't know how he stayed on the pitch. And the penalty was very soft. In actual fact, Chris has taken the ball and the player's left his leg in. Very soft. Amazing.''

On the Luiz trip on Rooney, he added: ''It was incredible. Even before that he'd done Chicharito (Hernandez) off the ball. He'd done him late. Nothing done, the referee's in front of it. 'He does Rooney clear as day, (the referee is) six yards from it, he doesn't do anything. That changed the game. These are decisions that change the game. And he's going to be refereeing every week.

''But I'm proud of the players. They've endured a lot of decisions against them but they've come through it, they've done their best. They've created good chances. They didn't deserve that.''

Asked if Chelsea were back in the title race, he added: ''If they get decisions like tonight then it can change everything. They got a lot of decisions tonight that surprised me.''

Vidic is ruled out of Sunday's trip to Liverpool, a match Rio Ferdinand will not be fit for either.

"I don't think Rio will be fit for Liverpool,'' said Ferguson. "Wes Brown will take over."

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti admitted Luiz had perhaps been fortunate.

''There was a lot of intensity and it was not easy for the referee to decide every time,'' he said. ''David Luiz could be lucky but there was a lot going on on the pitch so the referee decided he didn't see this.

"The referee took some decisions, but I don't want to judge them. I don't like doing this.''

He added of Luiz's all-action contribution: "Luiz's performance was very good, confirming the performance he made against Fulham. He scored an important goal, the key to the game, and he's a very good player.''

Ancelotti said of the 12-point gap to United: "It's too far, it's too far. But this victory is important for us and our confidence. We can't think about arriving at the top at this moment.

"I cannot believe we are this far behind, but we have to be honest. This is where we are in the table, and United have played with more consistency than us.''

The Italian admitted United had been the better team in the first half and hailed his side's fightback.

"They showed great spirit because it wasn't easy coming back into that game,'' he said. "United are fantastic on the counter-attack, so we needed to strike a good balance.''

Chelsea's victory came just days after it emerged Ashley Cole had accidentally shot an intern at the club. Ancelotti said of the left-back's performance: "He played a good game. He moved forward more in the second half and was defensively very good.''

Rooney Escapes FA Punishment

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney will not face any punishment from the Football Association following his apparent elbow on Wigan's James McCarthy at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

Rooney was facing the prospect of a potential three-match ban after television replays showed him catching McCarthy with his arm, but the United striker will now remain available for key Premier League clashes against Chelsea and Liverpool.

An FA probe hinged on Mark Clattenburg's report and the referee confirmed he had seen the incident and was content with how he had dealt with it on the field at the time - when he awarded Wigan a free kick. The official's verdict left the governing body powerless to launch disciplinary proceedings against Rooney.

Retrospective 'trial by video' may only be used for incidents that escape the attention of the referee. Clattenburg would first of all have had to admitted he did not see the incident and then explain exactly what he gave the free-kick for given the striker committed no other offence.

Professional Game Match Officials general manager Mike Riley said: "Mark took the correct course of action with this incident.

"Match officials are trained to prioritise following the ball, as that's where the greater majority of incidents are going to take place. However, we also do a lot of work around the area of peripheral vision to be aware of anything that might potentially happen off the ball.

"In this incident Mark was following play but caught sight of two players coming together and he awarded a free-kick because he believed one player had impeded the other.

"We should be clear that Mark did nothing wrong in officiating this incident as he acted on what he saw on the pitch.''

At the time, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said that, if Clattenburg had seen the incident properly, the offence would have warranted a straight red card. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that "because it is Wayne Rooney the press will raise a campaign to get him hung by Tuesday or electrocuted or something like that".

United can now prepare for Tuesday night's clash with Premier League champions Chelsea with the England international part of their plans.

Wigan 0 - 4 Man Utd

Latics sink in second half

Javier Hernandez made it a lucky 13 goals for the season as Manchester United charged four points clear of Arsenal with a clinical victory at Wigan.

Sir Alex Ferguson declared yesterday the Premier League title battle was now a straight fight between his own side and the Gunners, and with trips to Chelsea and Liverpool looming, United could not have made a better start to their week on the road. Preferred to Dimitar Berbatov, Hernandez justified the faith of his manager, turning home Nani's first-half cross before finishing Wayne Rooney's brilliant second-half through ball. Rooney and Fabio then scored in the final minutes to leave relegation-threatened Wigan thoroughly deflated at a result that did not reflect their performance.

Three times Edwin van der Sar needed to make outstanding saves, whilst skipper Nemanja Vidic was a towering presence in the United defence. Ferguson often speaks of his regret at failing to land Van der Sar in 1999 when he was searching for Peter Schmeichel's replacement. At the time, the giant Dutchman was at Ajax and about to leave for Juventus. Instead, Ferguson tried a number of alternatives. Some were better than others and titles kept being won. But was not until Van der Sar arrived from Fulham in 2005 that concern about the goalkeeping position ended.

This summer, Ferguson must hope for more success as Van der Sar heads off into retirement, having hit the 40-mark but still capable of producing the brilliance that has categorised his career. Two first-half saves were responsible for United having a half-time lead at the DW Stadium when they could easily have been behind. A poor back-pass from Paul Scholes presented Victor Moses with the first opportunity.

Moses strode into the United box with only Van der Sar to beat. He failed, blasting his shot against his imposing opponent's chest. That was when the contest was still goalless. Within seconds of United's opener, Wigan were in again. This time Moses was the provider, drilling a low cross to the far post where the combative James McCarthy was on his own six yards out. Again, only Van der Sar stood between Wigan and the net. Once more he came out on top.

That Hernandez had scored in between only added to the Latics' frustrations. The Mexican, preferred to Dimitar Berbatov, tends not to look as dangerous when starting games. He clearly knows how to find space, though. And, having once been denied by Ali Al Habsi after streaking clean through, the Mexican wriggled into enough space to steer home Nani's 17th-minute cross.

It was tough luck on Wigan, who were the better side, frustrating Scholes and Rooney in particular. That Scholes avoided a booking for clattering into the back of McCarthy was a mystery to everyone but referee Mark Clattenburg. Rooney had earlier caught the midfielder on the back of the head with his elbow. The Wigan fans were incensed. Rooney pleaded his innocence. TV replays were inconclusive. Before the half had ended, Rooney had needlessly got himself involved in a shoving match with Antolin Alcaraz and still looked ill at ease in the second period even though United played with far more poise.

They were forced to survive another near thing for Wigan before they took command, though. This time, Van der Sar needed agility rather than reactions to deny Maynor Figueroa. Nani came close to doubling the visitors' lead when he thrashed a fierce shot into the side-netting, not long after he had been repelled by Ali Al Habsi's firm one-handed save.

Ferguson made comparisons between Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo earlier this week. United's current Portugal winger is certainly a major attacking threat and Al Habsi repelled him with the first part of a double save, when he also denied Darren Fletcher, who had been set up by Rooney. The England man may still be struggling for goals himself but he remains an excellent source of them.

After failing to convert a close range header, Rooney collected Hernandez's knock-down, then fed the Mexican with a delicately weighted pass. Clean though, the Mexican found the bottom corner with ease. Victory assured, a Rooney tap-in from Berbatov's square ball, followed by Fabio's close-range finish, his first United goal, merely rubbed Wigan's noses in it at the start of an eight-day period when, one senses, the strength of their title credentials will be discovered once and for all.

Fergie Predicts Bright Future for Evans

Sir Alex Ferguson insists defender Jonny Evans has a long-term future at Manchester United and has backed the Northern Ireland international to build a successful long-term partnership with Chris Smalling.

Evans started the season partnering Nemanja Vidic at centre back in the absence of the injured Rio Ferdinand, but was linked with a loan move away from Old Trafford in the January transfer window.

He has made just one league start since September, with Smalling handed the responsibility of deputising for Ferdinand following another injury setback to the England skipper.

But despite rumours that Evans had fallen out of favour with Ferguson, the United boss is convinced that Smalling and Evans are the future of the team and can build a partnership to succeed Ferdinand and Vidic at the heart of the United defence.

"They're young, but Evans for example has already played a lot of games for us," Ferguson told the club's official website. "He played almost three quarters of the matches last season. He is well grounded in terms of what's needed here. His time will come.

"One of the first things I said to Martin Edwards when I first came to United was, 'you don't have very good partnerships at the centre of defence', and the goalkeeping situation was never a regular thing either.

"When we got Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister it was an incredible turnaround in consistency. The knowledge they gathered together, particularly with Bruce and Pallister, gave them that understanding. And they seldom missed games. That's something you build over time.

"That just shows that partnerships are vitally important. We've seen that with Nemanja and Rio, and hopefully Jonny and Chris can develop that too."

Owen In Line for Return

Michael Owen could return to the Manchester United squad for Saturday's trip to Wigan.

Owen last featured in the FA Cup win at Southampton last month and, since then, he suffered a groin injury in training that it was feared could rule the 30-year-old out for an extended period, possibly the remainder of the season.

However, the damage was not as severe as had been depicted and Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed Owen is in contention for the encounter at the DW Stadium. "Michael is back training and could be available tomorrow," he said.

Of the rest, only veteran winger Ryan Giggs is in contention to play, either at Wigan or Tuesday's crucial clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

"The situation has not changed very much," Ferguson said. "We are trying to get Ryan fit.Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans should both be back for Liverpool next weekend.

"Ji-sung Park is still two weeks away. Anderson will probably be back in three weeks, he's back in Portugal now and we'll have to see how he progresses.

"[Antonio] Valencia is doing well in training but it's difficult to assess when he'll be back. We have to make a decision as to how he feels given he's been out for so long. He could be back in two weeks hopefully."

Manucho is a great prospect

The Reds may have bolstered their attacking options with the deadline day recruitment of Dimitar Berbatov, but Sir Alex Ferguson will soon have another striker to add to the mix.Angolan striker Manucho joined the club at the end of last year after impressing during a three-week trial.He helped his country to the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup in January - firing four goals - before heading off on loan to Panathinaikos for the remainder of the 2007/08 campaign.Now in possession of a valid work permit, Reds' chief executive David Gill says it won't be too long before United fans see Manucho in action."We couldn’t get a work permit for him straight away, but when we looked at the rules and regulations we found that he actually qualified for one automatically. We’re delighted to have him," Gill told MUTV."He’s 25 years-old and has got a lot of great attributes. You only need to look at the goals he scored at the African Nations Cup to see that and I think he brings something different to the team."He’s got a little injury at the moment, but we’re looking forward to him getting fit and showing us what he can do. He’s a great prospect."